To Find a Way
by PrussianCrystal
Summary: Duo Maxwell has been born and raised a true Christian, but newly discovered feelings are causing him to question his sexuality. 1x2
1. Default Chapter

  
AN: A story drawn from my real life experiences. (except for the yaoi part) Yes, this will be a shounen ai/yaoi fic, but there's actually a *reason* for that. It's vital to the plot. 

Important Warning: This story will involve religious concepts. Stuff about how gay relationships relate to religion. Don't like it, don't read. 

Disclaimer: I own nothing and like it 

To Find a Way 

  


"Duo! Are you finished with your schoolwork?" Mrs. Maxwell called from the kitchen. The clanging of her pots and pans muffled her son's response. Not realizing it, she became angry. "Duo! You answer me when I asked you a question or you'll be grounded!" 

"Grounded from what?" Duo asked himself in his room. "It's not like I have very much friends anyway, because your too busy signing me up for things I don't want to do." He grumbled he silently reminded himself that he'd have to do a couple more minutes of prayers tonight to make up for talking about his mother like that behind her back. 

Duo rolled off his bed, straightening his shirt and undershirt and jogged into the kitchen. 

"I'm sorry mom, I'll talk louder next time." Duo mumbled, "I said I finished my schoolwork." Mrs. Maxwell grumbled something incoherent, and continued her cooking. Duo fiddled nervously behind her, playing with the end of his long, chestnut braid, a sure sign that he was nervous. 

"Hey mom, uh, I can go outside and hang with Quatre?" He asked. His mother frowned as she turned and glared at him with beady little blue eyes. Duo's mother wasn't exactly the picture of perfection. She almost never smiled, rarely laughed, and could scare off any girls that did so much as *look* in Duo's general direction. She was shorter than her son, a bit overweight, and had hair even longer than Duo's. It was dark gray and stringy, and she almost always had it pulled back into a loose ponytail or braid. Duo liked to wear his hair down, but his mother didn't let him. She said it was too feminine. Now Duo was just grateful his mother let him keep his hair so long. 

"Why wasn't Quatre at church today?" Mrs. Maxwell asked, completely ignoring Duo's former question. Duo blinked, shifting nervously from foot to foot, hands shoved in his jeans pockets. 

"I don't know, Mom. You know Quatre though, always having to watch his Sunday morning cartoons." Actually, that wasn't like Quatre at all. Quatre was the shy, sensitive type that never rotted his brain with cartoons or any TV for that matter. He was Christian, like Duo and his family, and was expected to go to church every Sunday except if he was ill. But lately, Quatre had been hanging out with the "wrong gang," as put by Duo's mother. He had befriended Trowa, a neighborhood kid from down the street. At eighteen, he was a couple years older than Duo and Quatre. Trowa was the strong, quiet type, tall, muscular, looked like he could take down a couple of kids Duo's size in a second. Trowa got into a lot of fights, often, and Duo's mother suspected that he done illegal drugs. So, of course, Duo wasn't aloud to go within ten feet of Trowa. However, Mrs. Maxwell didn't have that kind of control over Quatre. 

"Be back by 6:30." Duo's mother finally said, and Duo grinned and headed to the front door. Shutting the screen door behind him, Duo jogged up the Winner's driveway next door and slammed the door knocker twice. A couple of seconds later the door opened half way and Quatre's face appeared, topped with his trademark blond hair. He smiled. 

"Hey Duo." When Duo frowned at him his smile disappeared. "Uh...how was church?" 

"You'd know if you were there. Where were you this morning? Did your dad go?" Duo questioned. Quatre and his dad lived alone in their little house. Quatre's mother had died giving birth to him. As close as they were, Duo and Quatre never talked about Quatre's mom. Duo was too afraid to bring it up and Quatre had no need to. 

"I'm sorry Duo, but Trowa invited me to go to breakfast with him." He said quietly. Anger briefly flashed through Duo, but he dismissed it quickly. 'Remember to always forgive,' his mother's words repeated themselves in his mind. 

"Your dad let you get in Trowa's car?" Duo asked. His mom would never let him get in a car with anyone unless they were a responsible adult. Trowa was technically an adult, but he was far from responsible. 

"Well...actually...I.." Quatre's voice trailed off, and he started playing with his hands, a nervous gesture. Duo waited for him to continue. "I told my dad I was getting a ride to church with you this morning." He blurted out quickly. Duo blinked, staring unbelievingly at his friend. 

"Hey! It's bad enough you lied to your dad about something like that, but why'd you have to drag *me* into it?" Duo said, exasperated. Quatre shrugged, giving Duo an apologetic look. 

"It was the only excuse that fit." He muttered. Duo made a mental note to himself to include Quatre in his prayers tonight. He looked over his shoulder at Trowa's house. His parents hadn't kicked him out yet. But everyone in the neighborhood new they were going to. 

"I just don't know about that guy, Q." Duo said sadly. He turned to look back at his friend, "Hanging with guys like that can change a person." Quatre frowned. 

"Trowa is really nice guy. You're probably just jealous because you mom won't let you hang out with him." Duo winced. 

"That's not true." He said evenly. Quatre just sighed, shaking his head. He stepped out onto the porch, looking around, trying to focus on anything they could talk about rather than Trowa. Duo could get very protective of him sometimes, and it wasn't that Quatre didn't appreciate his concern, it just bugged him how Duo thought he was in control of his life. 

Suddenly, his eyes focussed on the house next-door. It had been abandoned for months now, after the couple with the four, big dogs moved out. He blinked, noticing the "For Sale" sign had been taken down. 

"Someone must be moving in." Quatre spoke both boys' thoughts. Duo nodded. 

"Guess so." 

"Wanna go over to Wufei's?" 

"Sure." 


	2. 2

To Find a Way   
Chapter Two

  
  
  


Wufei's house was just across the street from Duo and Quatre's house. it looked older than most of the houses on their quiet little street, but that was just because Mr. and Mrs. Chang, Wufei's parents, didn't keep the house very well. Nevertheless, Duo and Quatre had learned to discard the houses' appearance when they first tasted one of Mrs. Chang's home made egg rolls. 

As they approached the old, worn front door, the Chang's dog, Yin, immediately started barking at the gate. Grins crossed over Duo and Quatre's faces. 

"Hey Yin! Hey boy!" Quatre shouted, jogging over to the gate. The shepherd gave a high pitched excited bark, and his tail wagged furiously as he got up on his hind legs, trying to lick Quatre's face over the fence. Quatre smiled and pet the dog's head, and the shepherd licked his hang. Duo knocked on the door while watching Quatre and the dog from the porch. 

Within seconds the door creaked open and a young, Asian boy stepped out onto the porch, shutting the door quietly behind him. Wufei Chang looked irritated, but that was normal for him. Wufei was a bit shorter than Quatre, who was a bit shorter than Duo. despite his height he had a strong build. 

"Quiet Yin!" Wufei hissed angrily at the shepherd. Quatre backed up as Wufei approached the gate. Wufei never really acknowledged their presence, but he was still part of the gang, and Duo and Quatre never excluded him from anything. Wufei reached over the gate and unlocked it, letting the shepherd run free. The dog immediately tackled Quatre and Quatre nearly fell over backwards. 

"Please don't get the dog excited." Wufei grumbled, "My parents are sleeping." 

"Why do your parents always sleep during the afternoon?" Duo asked, walking over to join the boys on the lawn. Wufei frowned. 

"I don't know, really. Something about the time zone in China. They're always having to be careful not to call our relatives in the middle of the night." Duo cocked an eyebrow. 

"Right.." He said. He looked around, looking for something to change the subject to. his eyes rested on Quatre, who was chewing nervously on the sleeve of his over shirt. 

"So, Quatre's going to be coming to my youth group this week. Do you want to come, Wufei?" Duo offered. Quatre's eyes widened and he spun to face Duo. 

"Who said I was going?" He snapped. 

"You didn't go to church." 

"So? Jee Duo, it's not like I have to go every week. i got invited to go to breakfast. You just want me to go to youth group to make up the time." Quatre argued. 

"First of all," Duo started towards Quatre, his violet eyes blazing into Quatre's blue ones, "You could invited Trowa to come to church with us, and then you to could have gone out to breakfast. There were ways you could have compromised." Quatre simply stared at his friend in annoyance, before shrugging it off. 

"Fine, I'll go to youth group this week." He muttered. Duo sighed. He didn't like the look in Quatre's eyes anymore. Something had changed, and he had a pretty good idea who was responsible for this change. 

*** 

The boys had spent the rest of the afternoon digging through some junk Wufei's parents had piled up into he backyard. Duo found an old skateboard, which he had hurt himself trying to use, and then the boys got yelled at by the Changs because they were making too much noise. It was around 6:20 when they got kicked out of Wufei's yard, so Duo called it a night. His mom hated it when he waited until the last minute to come in anyway. 

Duo said goodbye to his friends, and gave Yin a friendly pat of the head, before heading inside. His face turned into an expression of distaste when he smelled the cigarette smoke in the living room. Ah, Dad was home. Duo cast a glance to the right, where his father was sprawled out on the couch, wearing knee length boxer shorts a stained t-shirt. Duo had inherited most of his physical features from his dad. They had the same chestnut colored hair and the same violet eyes, yet his father's were dimmed by stress and aging, so his eyes looked more gray than violet. His father wasn't overweight like his mother was, but certainly not in good shape. Duo, however, was in rather good shape, he didn't have the bulging muscles like Wufei or Trowa, but he could outrun any of his friends by a mile. 

"Duo, is that you?" His mother called from the kitchen. Duo walked past the smoke scented living room and into the kitchen where his mother was preparing some sort of soup broth. 

"It's me, Mom." Duo replied, leaning his elbows on the kitchen counter. he glanced up at the clock. 6:27. He didn't expect his mom to get angry. She didn't, just gave him one of her foul looks, then sniffing the air with some distaste. 

"Take a shower before dinner." 

"Mom.." Duo complained. he didn't feel like taking shower. he didn't feel like washing, drying, and re-braiding his hair. "Only if you let me air dry my hair." Duo proposed. mrs. Maxwell grimaced. 

"I hate it when your prancing around the house with your hair loose." She complained. 

"I'll stay in my room, all right?" 

"Tie it back during dinner." 

"Fine." Duo, somewhat satisfied with his mother's final decision, wandered into the bathroom and prepared his shower. He turned on the water and adjusted the temperature, before quickly slipping out of his over shirt and un-braiding his hair. He smiled as the long, chestnut locks, somewhat curved because of being in the braid, spills over his shoulders and hung below his hips. He looked at his reflection, and his smile faded. 

'Maybe I should just cut it off. No one appreciates it but me.' 

TBC 


	3. 3

To find a Way   
Chapter Three

There was a prolonged silence during dinner time at the Maxwell household after Mrs. Maxwell said grace. It was only Duo and his mom at the dinner table. His dad always took his dinner in front of the TV. Duo had put on some slacks and a button up shirt since his mom insisted that he be at least in a shirt and pants at the dinner table. He had tied his damp hair back into a loose ponytail, and the sweet scent of his shampoo cast an aroma over the dinner table. 

Duo was usually the one to break the silence. 

"How was your day, Mom?" Mrs. Maxwell looked up at her son, sighing heavily as she laid eyes on him. 

"You're having your hair cut." 

"Mom!" Duo shouted, rather loudly. He dropped his fork onto his plate. His mother made no new movements, just eyed him with the same distaste she had looked at him with for the past couple months. 

Ever since Duo had hit puberty, his mom had been acting suspiciously odd around him. She became more script with her rules, and hadn't smiled at him as often as she did before. She liked Duo's long hair because it made him look cute. But now, Duo's features had drastically changed since he was younger. His astonishing features no longer made him look cute, it made him look unbelievingly attractive, and his mother didn't like that, not one bit. 

"You've kept it long enough. It's time for it to go." Mrs. Maxwell said. Duo's eyes shimmered with unfallen tears. 

"Mom, please, you can't do this! You have to let me start making my own decisions!" He cried. He angrily pushed his chair back, grabbed his plate, nearly tossing it in the sink before jogging to his room. Once inside, he slammed the door angrily behind him, falling to his knees on his low bed. The young man forced himself not to cry over something as foolish as a hair cut, but it meant a lot to him. It was his key physical characteristic. He reached behind him and pulled the rubber band that was holding his hair, snapping it onto his finger and hiding his flushed face behind a curtain of hair. 

"Boys don't cry," He whispered, "boy's don't cry." 

A couple moments later, Duo found himself sitting on his bed, stripped down to his boxers, covers bunched around his hips, and his arms clutching his Bible to his chest. His right hand held the cross that dangled from a chain on his neck, and the quiet whispers escaping from his mouth could only be heard by himself, and God. 

*** 

The next morning, Duo had a most unpleasant awakening. A loud pounding on his bedroom window woke him with a startled gasp. He sat up in bed, knocking his Bible onto the floor. Pushing the covers off of him unceremoniously, and staggered to the window. He shoved the curtains over, and gaped incredulously at Trowa Barton who was grinning back at him through the glass. 

"Hey Duo! We were just curious 'bout what you wore to bed. Obviously not much." Trowa observed. Duo flushed, realizing his was only in his boxers. He glared at Trowa, grabbing his pants off the floor and pulling them on. 

"What'd you mean, we?" Duo asked, walking back over to the window. Trowa shrugged his shoulder to his right, and Duo followed the shrug and found Quatre standing slightly aside from the window, out of his clear view. Duo blinked. He was angry. It was early, and he was tired, and he had school today and now he was going to be cranky. And to top it off, Trowa Barton was in his backyard. 

"You guys get out of there!" Duo ordered, "Quat, are you supposed to be at school?" He asked in sudden realization. Quatre paled. 

"It-it was Trowa's idea...he.." He voice trailed off when he saw Trowa glaring at him. 

"Aw, lighten up, Christian boy. Don't tell me you've never ditched before." Duo frowned. 

"That would be impossible actually, considering that I'm home schooled." Duo snapped back Trowa grinned. 

"Oh, right, I forgot. Mama's little Christian boy can't hang with the big bad high school girls in tube and halter tops." Duo flushed fully, turning his face away from the older boy. 

"Maybe that's a good thing." He said quietly, "Plus, I'm not interested in that kind of stuff." Duo added. Trowa chuckled and Quatre gulped nervously. This was getting ugly. 

"What are you interested in, Maxwell? Boys?" Trowa asked, before breaking out in hysterical laughter, "Isn't that against God and Jesus and angels and stuff?" He asked, "Uh oh Duo, you're disobeying God and you're gonna go to hell!" Duo slammed his fists against the window. 

"You're crazy, Trowa! I'm not gay and you don't know what the hell you're talking about! Go to church and learn something that'll do you some good in life!" He violently closed his curtains, spun around and kicked his bed, hard. His ankle instantly turned red and was throbbing with pain, but Duo's anger was far greater than any pain. He heard Trowa and Quatre talking outside his bedroom window, and got up to leave his room. Not bothering to put on a shirt or braid his hair, he stomped angrily down the hall and sat down at the breakfast table, not acknowledging his parents' prosiness. 

"Duo, you know better than that. Go to your room and fix yourself up before you come out to breakfast." Mrs. Maxwell said. She sat down across from Duo at the table. Her long, stringy hair was braided into two separate braids., and she wore an oversized pink t-shirt and white leggings. She noticed the upset look on Duo's face. 

"Why the long face?" She asked. Duo didn't want to answer her. He was tired, he was angry, he was confused, and his ankle was swelling rather quickly. But he knew if he didn't answer her, it was just going to make things worse. 

"I tripped over the bed and hurt my ankle." Duo said, some of pain showing through his voice. 

"Stop being so clumsy." His mom said simply, turning back to her breakfast. Duo growled under his breath. He shoved his chair backwards and got up, careful not to put any extra weight on his ankle. 

"I need some fresh air." He spat, and limped towards the front door. He could feel his mom's eyes on his back the whole way, and he reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out a black rubber hair band. While kicking open the screen door with his good foot, he reached behind him, gathering up his large mass of hair and tied it into a loose ponytail with the hair band. He then stepped out into the cool morning air, letting the screen door shut by itself behind him. 

Walking further out on his porch, Duo could hear the loud hum of a large vehicle and the chatter of some people up the street. Curious, he stepped out onto his driveway, looking past Quatre's yard and spotting the moving van near the next house up. 

Duo's breath caught in his throat when he spotted the figure sitting in the back of the open moving van, his legs dangling off the edge, arms behind him, propping him up. It wasn't the fact that the boy looked to be around his age, and he was going to moving in the neighborhood, it was because Duo found him to be very attractive. 

TBC 


	4. 4

AN: This is a story drawn from my real life experiences (except for the yaoi part) Yes, this is a shounen ai/yaoi fic, but there is actually a *reason* for that. It's vital to the plot. 

Important Warning: This story will involve reigious concepts. Stuff about how gay relationships relate to religion. Don't like it, don't read. 

Disclaimer: I own nothing and like it. 

To Find a Way   
Chapter Four 

As soon as Duo got over his shock and as he looked closer, he thought that he might be mistaken. Maybe it wasn't a boy at all, maybe it was a girl. Duo thought of the possibilities hopefully as he stepped off of his driveway onto the curb, completely forgetting about his mom's rule of, "No going off the property without telling me first." The object of Duo's interest thankfully hadn't noticed him yet, and was just staring in the direction of its new house. 

Duo took a deep breath and starting walking up the sidewalk, casually, like he was just taking a stroll. He had never been this nervous about saying hello to someone before. Usually Duo was very outgoing; he couldn't go anywhere without meeting at least one aquantiance. He looked up, and for a second locked eyes with the new kid, until the kid looked away quickly. 'Ah, the shy type.'' Duo noted. He smirked, feeling more confident, looking at his feet as he approached the kid. 

Slowly, he looked up, eyes widening unconsciously when they feasted on the slim, firm chest and stomach that the boy's shirt hugged tightly. When Duo reached the boy's face all suspicions were gone. Yes, it was a boy, an extremely gorgeous boy. He had perfectly tinted skin, tousled, dark brown hair that fell over his eyes in the front giving him a sexy, mysterious look. Oh, and those eyes. They were huge and rich blue in color, Duo felt captivated when he looked into them. 

Duo stumbled a step backwards, blushing as he realized he had been staring. 

"H-hey." Duo said, clearing his throat, slapping on a cover up smile, "Cool shoes." His eyes darted quickly downward to make sure the boy was actually wearing shoes. 

"Uh..thanks." The boy replied, shuffling his feet self-consciously. Duo took a deep breath.   
  
"Well, I'm Duo Maxwell, I live two doors down, I usually wear shirts and my ankle hurts like hell." He grinned a big, trademark grin at the boy, who smiled shyly. 

"Heero Yuy." He introduced himself as. Duo clicked the name into his memory. It was embarrassing having to ask someone their name after they had already told you. The next question that instantly popped into Duo's mind was if Heero was a Christian. However, he figured that Heero probably wouldn't be too comfortable with that kind of a question just yet. 

"So, how old are you? You look like you're in high school, at least." Duo commented. Heero nodded. 

"I'm sixteen, eleventh grade." 

"Yeah?" Duo asked with interest, "I'm sixteen as well. Tenth grade, though. I started school late. Um, have you met Quatre?" Duo asked, quickly changing the subject. he was slightly embarrassed that he was in a grade lower than Heero was, it made him less confident. 

"No." Heero said quietly, "This is the first time I've been here." He noticed he had been staring at Duo's slim, yet toned chest and looked away quickly, his gaze finally coming to fall on his hands in his lap. 

"Ahh, well, maybe the three of us could hang out sometime. I'm free on Mondays and Tuesdays, Wednesday I have youth group and Thursday I have soccer practice and won't be home 'til six." Duo explained. Heero simply shrugged. 

"Yeah maybe. I'm working as a lifeguard at a community pool this summer." 

"That's cool. I'm still looking for a job. My mom always finds me ways to busy anyway. Speaking of my mom, I should be getting back home. I have some school work to get finished before lunch." Duo sighed. Heero quirked an eyebrow. 

"You do schoolwork during the summer?" He asked. Duo tensed, feeling a bit sheepish. 

"Yeah, I'm a little behind on math." Heero nodded, understanding. They didn't notice the woman who stepped out on the porch. Duo looked over there as she cleared her throat. 'That must be Heero's mom.' He suspected. She was a pretty tall for a woman, probably around 5'8, a slim build and shoulder length brown hair. Her eyes were blue, like Heero's, and she had slight signs of aging on her face. 

"Hello. I'm Duo." He said cheerfully. The woman smiled. 

"I'm Sachi Yuy. I take it you live around here?" Duo nodded. 

"Yeah, two houses down. Heero and I are the same age." Sachi looked at Heero and smirked. 

"See, Heero? I told you you'd have no trouble finding friends out here." Heero blushed slightly, avoiding eye contact with Duo. 

"You're all welcome to come over to my place while the movers are still here. I can make lunch." Duo offered. Heero's face seemed to get redder. Sachi looked thoughtful, and she glanced over at the side gate where the movers were taking the furniture to the back. 

"Makoto!" She called. One of the men turned around, and Duo immediately recognized him as Heero's father. He looked just like him, except with shorter hair and larger build. He stood tall at about 6'6, and was wearing a tight muscle t-shirt and rugged blue jeans. He looked as though he weighed about 250 pounds of muscle. The large man wiped sweat of his brow, giving his wife a questioning look. 

"Would you like to come down and have lunch? This kind young man has offered his hospitality." Sachi called. she waved towards Duo, and the man turned his head to look at the long haired boy. He studied him for a minute, then looked at Heero, gesturing his son to come to him. Heero stood up, and Duo almost started drooling over him again. Heero was taller than him by a couple of inches. It was odd; the way he felt around around people taller than him. Usually, he felt intimidated, but with Heero, he felt protected. 'Ah! What I'm thinking? What's wrong with me?' Duo mentally slapped himself for thinking of himself as a school girl who needed to be protected by some stud. 

Duo had to tear his eyes away from the slight ripple of muscle on Heero's shoulders as he walked to his father. He turned to his son privately, walking to him quietly so Duo couldn't hear them. He couldn't read their lips either, but once he awhile Makoto would look over in Duo's direction. He looked like he was scolding Heero. But what had Heero done? 


End file.
